Media Studies

OVERVIEW

Media plays a central role in contemporary culture, society and politics, shaping our perceptions of the world through the representations, ideas and points of view they offer. We teach you a range of media forms in terms of a theoretical framework which consists of media language, representation, media industries and audiences. The study of a wide range of rich and stimulating media products from TV, radio, magazines, music video, film, advertising and marketing, online and video games offers you the opportunity to critically explore and reflect, analyse and debate the ideologies expressed by the media and best prepare you for a media career.

STUDY

We use the OCR programme of study. The papers are split as follows for the full A Level:

Component 1 – Media Messages

Section A covers an in- depth study of contemporary news in the UK through newspapers and magazines.

Section B explores media language and representation through the study of advertising & marketing, music videos and magazines.

Component 2 – Evolving Media

Section A explores media industries and audiences through products from radio, video games and film.

Section B is an in-depth study of two long form television products in relation to key areas of the theoretical framework.

Component 3 – Production

Non-exam assessment

Cross-Media Production from an exam board brief

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

The economic importance of the media should not go unnoticed. In the UK alone, the creative industries will contribute to the economy with an estimated £90 billion of revenue. With ongoing developments in technology and more opportunities to interact with the media, there is no better time than now to embark on a career in Media. Job opportunities include: Television/Film/ Video Producer; Programme Researcher; Advertising Account Executive; Broadcast Journalist; Writer and more. As well as communications agencies and higher education institutions, typical employers include marketing organisations, newspaper and publishing industries and television, film and radio companies.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

5 grade 9-4’s GCSE or equivalent plus English at grade 5.